Support for Named Disaster: 2010 Haiti Earthquake available at American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

JDC’s Response
In response to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, JDC is collecting funds to aid relief efforts for victims on a non-sectarian basis. JDC has moved swiftly to coordinate relief efforts with its network of Israeli, American, and other local partners on the ground, focusing on the provision of critical food, water, and medical aid to local residents.

The first JDC team has returned from Haiti. A second JDC team is traveling to the island this week to explore further partnerships for JDC’s continued disaster response. Current activities include:

Food
JDC is supporting EcoWorks International in operating a feeding program for patients and their families as well as medical staff, based out of the remains of a collapsed local hospital. In addition, a JDC-allotted grant to Chabad-Lubavitch of the Dominican Republic funded convoys carrying milk for children in Haiti.

Water
Through the ProDev Foundation, a local Haitian NGO that focuses on education and development, JDC is sponsoring 115 water tanks that will ensure clean drinking water for hundreds of thousands of quake victims living in tent villages. All of the tanks are expected to be operational by the end of this month. JDC is also funding several water supply projects through the International Rescue Committee to provide sources of clean, potable water in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding community.

Medical Aid and Supplies
A JDC grant is supporting Magen David Adom (MDA) in sending its first Health Emergency Response Unit—a team of five medical staff—on February 18th to spend four weeks in Haiti. JDC is also funding MDA’s Israeli Rehabilitation Team. Departing this week, the team will assess the needs and availability of rehabilitation equipment (e.g., wheelchairs and crutches), medical professionals (e.g., physiotherapists), and facilities needed to help the great number of quake victims who have suffered amputations and other severe physical injuries.

JDC continues to support Heart to Heart International in providing medical care, equipment, and services to victims of the earthquake. In light of challenges being faced by aid groups on the ground, JDC has also funded the purchase of four trucks to transport Heart to Heart’s teams of doctors, nurses, and other material assistance to isolated communities where adequate relief has yet to reach.

Working with the Afya Foundation, three containers of mattresses, blankets, and much-needed medical supplies have been sent to Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health on the ground in Haiti. JDC is funding an additional two containers of medical equipment, tents, and other supplies due to reach Haiti this week

JDC has also been working with the Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Forces, whose team of medical professionals operated a field hospital in Port-au-Prince for two weeks following the disaster. JDC helped equip the hospital, furnishing infant incubators for its neonatal unit and much-needed orthopedic devices.

JDC continues to coordinate its activities with the White House, the Department of State, USAID, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli relief agencies, and the United Nations.

JDC and its partners worldwide have implemented similar relief efforts and continue to operate programs designed to rebuild infrastructure and community life in disaster-stricken regions.

The Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, which is chaired by JDC, is coordinating additional emergency response activities in partnership with the Afya Foundation and Chabad. In addition, the Coalition has partnered with the International Rescue Committee to provide relief supplies during the initial phase of the disaster.

General Info
On January 12, 2010, at 5 p.m. Haiti was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake—the most powerful to strike the Caribbean nation in 200 years. The quake's epicenter was 10 miles from Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital. News outlets are reporting death tolls reaching as high as 200,000.

Homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods have been wiped out. Hospitals and health facilities were destroyed, as were the presidential palace, numerous government buildings (including those of the UN and the World Bank), and thousands of shanty homes on the hillside of Port-au-Prince.

With the search-and-rescue phase of the disaster response officially declared complete, world attention has shifted to plans for how to rebuild the disaster-stricken nation.

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